Objective: To understand the epidemiological characteristics of a pertussis outbreak in Guangzhou, so as to provide references for outbreak response and prevention strategies. Methods: From April 5 to June 9, 2024, case screening was conducted among 246 preschool children, 35 staff members, and one full time school nurse in a kindergarten in Guangzhou based on case definition. Field epidemiological investigation methods were employed to collect relevant information, and screening samples were collected from individuals involved in the outbreak. The clinical manifestations, epidemiological characteristics, and risk factors for transmission of the outbreak were analyzed, with rate comparisons performed using the χ 2 test. Results: There were a total of 15 confirmed cases of pertussis in the kindergarten. The main clinical manifestations included intermittent cough in 14 cases ( 93.33 %), sputum production in 5 cases (33.33%), fever in 2 cases (13.33%), paroxysmal spasmodic cough in 1 case (6.67%), and vomiting in 1 case (6.67%). There was no statistically significant difference in the reporting rates of interrupted cough symptoms between pertussis cases (93.33%) and non pertussis cases (92.86%)( χ 2=3.74, P >0.05). The cases were aged 4-5 years, including 5 males and 10 females. The interval between symptom onset and diagnosis ranged from 2 to 25 days, with a median of 10 days. The outbreak involved two classes, with attack rates of 48.28% and 3.45%, respectively. Laboratory testing confirmed 14 close contacts positive for Bordetella pertussisnucleic acid. Among close contacts, only one received prophylactic medication as required. Conclusion The outbreak is a pertussis outbreak in a kindergarten caused by Bordetella pertussis infection, demonstrating distinct temporal and spatial clustering characteristics.

The machine learning is used increasingly and widely in acupuncture prescription optimization, intelligent treatment and precision medicine, and has obtained a certain achievement. But, there are still some problems remained to be solved such as the poor interpretability of the model, the inconsistency of data quality of acupuncture research, and the clinical application of constructed models. Researches in future should focus on the acquisition of high-quality clinical and experimental data sets, take various machine learning algorithms as the basis, and construct professional models to solve various problems, so as to drive the high-quality development of acupuncture research.
Acupuncture Therapy/trends* ; Machine Learning ; Humans ; Algorithms

Protein liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), a pivotal phenomenon intricately linked to cellular processes, is regulated by various other proteins. However, there is still a lack of high-throughput methods for screening protein regulators of LLPS in target proteins. Here, we developed a CRISPR/Cas9-based screening method to identify protein phase separation regulators by integrating bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Using this newly developed method, we screened the RNA-binding proteins that regulate PABPN1 phase separation and identified the tumor suppressor QKI as a promoter of PABPN1 phase separation. Furthermore, QKI exhibits decreased expression levels and diminished nuclear localization in colorectal cancer cells, resulting in reduced PABPN1 phase separation, which, in turn, promotes alternative polyadenylation (APA), cell proliferation, and migration in colorectal cancer.
Humans ; Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics* ; RNA-Binding Proteins/genetics* ; Poly(A)-Binding Protein I/genetics* ; CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Flow Cytometry ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement

Objective:To analyze the awareness of and factors influencing the adjusted national immunization schedule for the diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine among grassroots immunization service personnel in China.Methods:Based on the snowball sampling method from January to February 2025, immunization service personnel from all provinces of China were selected from the "Tingting Experts Talk" WeChat platform, with concurrent dissemination through the "National Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Communication Group" WeChat group. The questionnaire included basic demographic characteristics and knowledge of the DTaP vaccine immunization policy (13 questions in total). Respondents who answered ≥10 questions correctly were defined as being aware of the policy adjustment. The multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors influencing awareness.Results:A total of 8 030 valid questionnaires were collected from 29 provinces, with a valid response rate of 92.91%. The overall awareness accuracy rates among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) personnel and the point of vaccination (POV) staff were 74.1% and 62.5%, respectively. The awareness rate of the core points of policy adjustment among the research subjects exceeded 90%. Among the questions regarding the operational details of policy implementation, the correct rate of answering questions related to the catch-up vaccination principles was relatively low (37.1%-74.0%). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, compared with those with primary titles, CDC personnel with senior titles had higher mastery of the policy adjustment, with an OR (95% CI) value of 2.238 (1.343-3.730). Compared with those engaged in disease surveillance and immunization strategy research, CDC personnel with other work types had lower awareness of the policy adjustment, with an OR (95% CI) value of 0.404 (0.195-0.833). Compared with those in western regions, with primary titles, and without relevant training, POV staff in central regions, eastern regions, with intermediate titles, with senior titles, with one relevant training session, and with ≥2 relevant training sessions had better awareness of the program adjustment, with OR (95% CI) values of 1.214 (1.085-1.358), 1.412 (1.246-1.600), 1.606 (1.446-1.784), 1.737 (1.443-2.091), 2.254 (1.509-3.366), and 2.674 (1.769-3.981), respectively. Compared with those engaged in information registration/recipient notification, POV staff with vaccination services and other work types had lower awareness of the program adjustment, with OR (95% CI) values of 0.713 (0.633-0.803) and 0.508 (0.427-0.604), respectively. Conclusion:Although grassroots immunization service personnel show an insufficient mastery of certain catch-up vaccination knowledge, they demonstrate a good understanding of overall principles and routine immunization schedules shortly after the policy adjustment, which can effectively ensure an orderly transition between old and new immunization strategies.

Objective:To investigate the death risk of gastric cancer patients with different primary sites.Methods:The data of 35 263 gastric cancer patients from 2004 to 2015 were extracted from of the National Cancer Institute the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. According to the recorded causes of death, the treatment outcomes were classified into 3 categories: death from gastric cancer, death from non-gastric cancer and others. All included patients were grouped by age, gender, race, region, and marital status. Statistical analysis was conducted by using R 4.2.1 software to compare the composition of patients with different treatment outcomes at 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year in each factor subgroup. Univariate Fine-Gray competing model was used to analyze the cumulative incidence of death at 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year in gastric cancer patients with different primary sites. The 5 factors mentioned above were included in the multivariate Fine-Gray competing model to analyze the factors influencing the risk of death from gastric cancer in the entire population at 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year and in gastric cancer patients with different primary sites for 10 years in each factor subgroup after adjusting for demographic differences.Results:Among the entire population, there were 13 392 cases of cardia, 2 198 cases of gastric fundus, 4 510 cases of gastric body, 8 394 cases of antrum, 1 154 cases of pylorus, 3 633 cases of lesser curvature, and 1,982 cases of greater curvature. There were statistically significant differences in the composition of 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year treatment outcomes including death from gastric cancer, non-gastric cancer and other outcomes of gastric cancer patients stratified by different age, gender, race, region, marital status, and primary sites of tumors among subgroups (all P < 0.001). Univariate Fine-Gray model analysis showed that the cumulative incidence of death from gastric cancer was 29.0%, 30.9% and 31.6%, respectively at 3-year,5-year and 10-year after the confirmed diagnosis in gastric cancer patients with primary sites in the cardia, which was all lower than that in those with primary site in the gastric fundus (44.5%, 46.8%, 47.7%), the gastric body (49.1%, 46.8%, 53.5%), the antrum (51.4%, 54.7%, 56.1%), the pylorus (53.6%, 57.8%, 59.8%), the lesser curvature (44.4%, 48.4%, 50.0%), and the greater curvature (42.4%, 45.0%, 46.4%). Multivariate Fine-Gray model analysis showed that the 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year mortality risks of gastric cancer patients with the primary site in the cardia were all lower than those of patients with the primary sites in other locations (all HR > 1, P < 0.001); taking the 10-year death from gastric cancer as an example, the death risks of gastric cancer patients with the primary site in the fundus ( HR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.62-1.86), gastric body ( HR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.93-2.14), gastric antrum ( HR = 2.13, 95% CI: 2.04-2.23), pylorus ( HR = 2.28, 95% CI: 2.11-2.47), lesser curvature ( HR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.67-1.86), and greater curvature ( HR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.53-1.76) were all higher than those of patients with primary site in the cardia (all P < 0.001). The results of subgroup multivariate Fine-Gray model analysis showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the 10-year death risk of gastric cancer between gastric cancer patients with other primary sites and patients with primary site in the cardia in the age group under 30 years (gastric fundus, gastric body, gastric antrum, lesser curvature, greater curvature), the black group (gastric fundus and lesser curvature) and other races group (gastric fundus, greater curvature and lesser curvature)(all P > 0.05); the results of other subgroups were the same as those of the entire population, namely, the 10-year risk of death from gastric cancer in patients with primary site in the cardia was lower than that in patients without primary site in the cardia (all HR > 1, P < 0.05). Conclusions:In SEER database, the patients with primary site in the cardia has a lower risk of death from gastric cancer compared to those with other primary sites.

Objective To explore the effect of diet therapy on alcohol-induced chronic liver injury in rats and its relationship with TLR4 pathway.Methods According to Pueraria:Poria:Amomum villosum:Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae:Codonopsis:Zingiberis Rhizoma=15∶15∶10∶10∶10∶6,the water extract of the therapeutic prescription was prepared.A total of 78 female SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups:normal group(n=12),model group(n=18),Hugan tablet group(0.35 g·kg-1,n=12),low-,medium-and high-dose Shiliaofang groups(2,6,18 g·kg-1,n=12).Except for the normal group,the rats in each group were induced alcoholic liver disease(ALD)by gradient alcohol gavage.After 10 weeks of intervention,the changes of body weight and water intake of rats were observed.The whole blood routine,serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC)and liver malondialdehyde(MDA)were measured.The levels of serum alcohol dehydrogenase(ADH),aldehyde dehydrogenase(ALDH),lipopolysaccharide(LPS),D-lactic acid(D-LA),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6)and interleukin-10(IL-10)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of liver and ileum.Oil red staining was used to observe liver fat deposition.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of ileal tight junction component occludin.Western blot was used to detect the expression of TLR4,MyD88 and NF-κB p65 protein in liver.Results Compared with the model group,the levels of WBC,LYC,TC,ALT,AST,LPS,D-LA,TNF-α and IL-6 in each diet group decreased,IL-10 increased,liver inflammatory cell infiltration and red lipid droplets decreased,intestinal villi were intact and densely arranged,the expression of occludin protein in ileum increased,and the expression of TLR4,MyD88 and NF-κB p65 protein in liver decreased.Conclusion The self-made dietotherapy prescription has a significant protective effect on chronic liver injury induced by alcohol in rats,which may be related to its down-regulation of TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB p65 protein expression and up-regulation of ileal occludin protein expression,improvement of intestinal mucosal barrier function,reduction of endotoxin entry into the liver,activation of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway,thereby reducing the second hit to the liver.This diet can be developed as a potential anti-alcoholic liver injury drug.

BACKGROUND:Osteoporosis is defined as a chronic metabolic bone disease,and a large amount of evidence has shown that gut microbiota is involved in osteoporosis.However,the causal relationship between gut microbiota and osteoporosis is yet unclear.OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the potential causal relationship between gut microbiota and osteoporosis using the two-sample Mendelian randomization.METHODS:Pooled statistics from the MiBioGen Consortium's Genome-Wide Association Analysis(GWAS)of gut microbiota and GWAS data from the UK Biometric Sample database for osteoporosis were used.Inverse variance weighting(IVW),MR-Egger regression,weighted median,weighted model and simple model were used to study the causal relationship between gut microbiota and osteoporosis.Sensitivity analysis was used to test whether the results of Mendelian randomization are reliable.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The inverse variance weighted method showed that there was a causal relationship between gut microbiota and osteoporosis.Among them,the R7 genus of Christensenaceae(MR Egger:β=-0.007;IVW:β=-0.004,P=0.028),Coprococus 3(MR Egger:β=-0.008;IVW:β=-0.003,P=0.046)and Trichospirillum(MR Egger:β=-0.009;IVW:β=-0.004,P=0.003)may be protective factors for osteoporosis,while Hotella(MR Egger:β=0.006;IVW:β=0.002,P=0.033)and Eubacterium oxyoxide(MR Egger:β=0.001;IVW:β=0.003,P=0.046)may be potential risk factors for osteoporosis.Eubacterium oxyoxide and Hotella can increase the risk of osteoporosis,while R7 of Christensenaceae,Coprococcus 3 and Spirillum can reduce the risk of osteoporosis.Whether this conclusion also applies to non-European populations will need to be verified in the future by large clinical trials in different groups.

Objective This study aims to establish a hidden curriculum-based medical humanities teaching pathway within surgical internship education and evaluate its effectiveness in enhancing students' humanistic care competence.Methods A single-group pre-test and post-test design was adopted.A total of 76 interns from a tertiary teaching hospital in 2024 were in-cluded.A five-dimensional hidden curriculum framework—material,spiritual,behavioral,faculty,and institutional—was con-structed.Humanistic competence was assessed before and after the intervention using the Humanistic Professional Awareness Scale for Healthcare Students and Providers(HPAS-HSP).Results Post-intervention scores significantly improved compared to pre-intervention across the total scale in the three dimensions:personal integrity and responsibility,sensitivity to others,and pro-fessional competence(P＜0.05),with the greatest improvement observed in sensitivity to others.Conclusion The structured hidden curriculum is effective in enhancing medical students' humanistic qualities,especially in fostering emotional resonance and professional identity.Future work should focus on verifying behavioral transformation and developing multi-source evaluation sys-tems to improve effectiveness and applicability.

Objective:To develop a scientific and practical questionnaire for general practice residents, and to conduct multidimensional and comprehensive evaluation of the quality of general practice teaching clinics.Methods:A preliminary draft of the questionnaire items was formulated based on a literature review and in-depth interviews. The Delphi method was employed to conduct two rounds of consultation with 14 experts. Following revisions, a convenience sampling method was used to invite general practice residents from three standardized residency training bases to test the reliability and validity of the questionnaire.Results:The questionnaire consisted of 23 items, covering the three dimensions of preparation, implementation process, and comprehensive evaluation of the teaching clinics. The response rates for the two rounds of the expert consultation were both 100.00%, with expert authority coefficients of 0.89 and 0.90, respectively. The overall Cronbach's α coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.93, and the correlation coefficients between each item score and the total score were all >0.30. Structural validity analysis revealed that three common factors were extracted from the questionnaire, with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 77.89%. Conclusions:The General Practice Teaching Clinic Quality Evaluation Questionnaire for Residents developed in this study demonstrates high reliability and validity. The questionnaire provides a scientific basis for the standardized assessment of teaching quality in general practice clinics. By incorporating resident feedback on the teaching process, the questionnaire promotes the development of a teaching clinic quality improvement mechanism focused on residents and plays a significant role in enhancing the teaching capabilities of supervising physicians in clinics.